Coil retaining means



March 6, 1934. H. H. EATON 1,949,739

COIL RETAINING MEANS Fi led May 14, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwuento'cl War/76a [472/7 March 6, 1934.

H. H. EATON 1,949,739

COIL RETAINING MEANS Filed May 14, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 3M a/M2 0 March 6, 1934. H. H. EATON COIL RETAINING MEANS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 14. 1928 March 6, 1934. H. H. EATON COIL RETAINING MEANS Filed May 14, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 6, 1934. H. H. EATON COIL RETAINING MEANS Filed May 14, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Mar. 6, 1934 I 1 ,949,735. J-f; con. RETAINING MEANS Harrison H. Eaton, Toledo, Ohio; assignor to The Electric Auto-Lite Company, Toledo, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application May 14,1928, Serial No. 277,648

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and means for securing coils in armatures or the like. In the manufacture of armatures for use in motors and other dynamo electric machines and particularly of the smaller sizes, the armstures are formed with a plurality of circuiiiferentially spaced grooves or recesses, the-.latter having narrow throats which are adapted to receive a number of turns of wire forming the armature coils. Various means have heretofore been employed for securing the coils in the armaturerecesses as for example, wedges made of wood or fiber, strips of insulating paper, et cetera, but these methods of retaining the coils are somewhat unsatisfactory and in those structures in which wedges are used, the operation of inv serting them consumes a great deal of time and is comparatively expensive. One of the principal objects of ,thisinvention is the provision of a novel method of retaining coils in armature recesses.-

Another of a means for retaining armature coils which consists in positioning a length of fibrous rope in the throat of the armature slot.

Another object is the provision of a machine which automatically inserts a portion of a continuous supply of material in an armature slot for retaining an armature coil therein.

A further object is the provision of a means for automatically indexing or shifting the armature after the insertion of each coil retaining element to bring the next succeeding recess thereof into proper position.

Another object is to provide a machine which will be automatically stopped after all of the recesses of an armature have been filled or closed with .coil retaining material.-v I ,7

Still another object is the provision -;of an automatic'machine of "this characterwhich is simple and positive in its'operation, not liable to get out of order and which is capable of being operated by unskilled workmen.

Further objects and advantages are within the scope of this invention such as relate to the arrangement, operation and function of the related elements of the structure, to various details of construction and to combinations of parts, elements per se, and to economies of manufacture and numerous other features as will be apparent from a consideration of the specification and drawings of a form of the invention. which may be preferred, in which Figure I is a detail diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the coil retaining strip is pushed through the throat and its position after insertion.

Figure II is the side elevational view of the machine of .myinvention.

' Figure ,IlIis a front elevational view of the upper portion of the machine.

;Figure IVaisa side eleyational view of the parts shownin Figure III. i

Figure V is an enlarged detailed sectional view showing various parts'of the mechanism. 5- s Figure VI is a view similar to Figure V showing the rope inserting tool in its lowermost position.

Figure VII is a vertical transverse sectional view through the rope feeding and severing means. 3

Figure VIII is a top plan view of the rope feeding and severing mechanism shown in Figure VH.

Figure IX isan;,-e'nlarged detailed plan view showing thelropej feeding: rolls and operating I mechanis'mtherefor.

object of the invention is the provision Figure: Xfis a-vertical transverse sectional view for. I

Figure XI is a longitudinal sectional view of the parts shown in Figure IX.

showing the clutch "and operatingmieans there:-

Figure XII is a detailed sectional view of an I overrunning clutch taken substantially on the line XIIX[I of Figure IX.

Figure XIII is a view similar to Figure V showing a modified form of the armature supporting means. i

Figure XIV is an elevational view of this supporting means showing the manual means for releasing the armature.-

Figure XV is a fragmentary top plan view showing parts of the modified form of armature supporting means.

Referring particularly to Figure I of the drawings; in carryingv out'the idea of my invention, the coil retaining means 1 is preferably an insulating material having resilient characteristics as, for example, rope or other fibrous material. Portions'of the rope are selectively'fed opposite the throats of the several armature recesses and as each recess is brought to predetermined 'position, a tool automatically inserts a length of the rope therein. Thetcoil retainingrope is preferably of a diameter slightly larger than the width of the opening or throat of an armature recess so that upon being forced into the recess by means of mechanism to be hereinafter described, the rope is distorted as shown in D of Figure I in entering the throat.

After the rope has been pushed through the throat of an armature recess a continued downward movement of the inserting tool 125 causes the rope to compress the coils in the recess as shown in E of Figure I. Upon withdrawal of the tool 125, the reaction of the coil is suflicient to bind the rope firmly between the coils and the adjacent walls of the recess, the rope assuming somewhat of an oval shape as shown in F of Figure I, so that there is no danger of the rope being forced out through the throat and at the same time secures the coil against displacement.

The paper insulation A covering the teeth of the armature makes the insertion of the rope easier as the sharp edges of the teeth are not permitted to contact with the coil retaining ropes. I also contemplate the use of coil retaining "material of a dimension substantially equivalent tially rectangular base 2,the upper portion of which is formed with a pair of curved ways (not shown) adapted to support an L-shaped frame 3. The frame of the machine may be tilted with respect to the base 2 and held in adjusted position by means of lock nuts 4. Journalled in the upper extremity of the frame 3 is a crankshaft 6, upon one end of which is supported a fly wheel 8 normally adapted to rotate independently of the crank shaft. Journalled upon the crank arm intermediate the crank shaft supporting bearings is a pitman 10 which is pivoted.

at its lower end to a ram 11 adapted for vertical reciprocatory movement between the guide ways 12. Thefly wheel 8 is connected by means of a suitable belt 7 to an electric motor 9 or other source of power.

Clutch operating mechanism In order to operatively connect the fly wheel 8 with the crank shaft 6 I have provided a clutch mechanism of the usual type consisting of a pin 15 slidably carried in the fly wheel 8 and adapted to engage or project into a notch 17 in a flange 18 formed on the crank shaft 6. The pin 15 is provided with a projection 16, and is normally held out of engagement with the crank shaft by means of a spring pressed latch 20 provided with a notch 21 which is adapted to receive the projection 16 on the pin 15, and restrain the pin from engagement with the crank shaft.

Means are provided for releasing the latch 20 comprising a cam 25 fixedly supported upon the upper extremity of a rod 27, the latter being connected at its lower end to a rectangular block 29 to which is secured a connecting link 31. The link 31 is pivotally secured as at '32 to a lever 33, one end of which is pivoted as at 34 to the frame of the press, the other end connected by means of a vertical rod 36 to an operating treadle 37. The cam 25 is resiliently held in its uppermost position by means of a coil spring 39 in which position it is out of engagement with the latch 20.

By depressing the treadle 37 the cam 25 will be moved into the path of the latch 20 carried by the fly wheel 8, and the face of the cam is so shaped as to move the latch radially of the fly wheel and release the clutch pin 15 which is moved into engagement with the notch 17 in the crank shaft 6 under the influence of the coil spring 19. In this manner the crank shaft 6 is caused to rotate with the fly wheel 8 and through the medium of the pitman 10 causes a vertical reciprocation of the ram 11.

I have provided automatic means for disengaging the pin 15 from the crank shaft 6 which means is brought into operation after a certain predetermined number of reciprocations of the ram 11. Fixed to the ram 11 is a transversely extending bar 45, to the outer end of which is pivotally connected by means of a screw 46 one end of the link 47, the other end of the link being pivoted to an arm 49 which is journalled upon a shaft 50, the latter carriedby the body of the machine. Mounted upon the shaft 50 adjacent the arm 49 is a ratchet wheel 51, the teeth of which are adapted to be successively engaged by a pawl or detent 53 carried by the arm 49.

The ratchet wheel is provided with a pin 55 which is adapted, upon each complete revolution of the wheel, to engage a projection on a pawl 57 suitably pivoted upon a short shaft 58 fixed in the frame of the machine. The block 29 forming a part of the clutch operating mechanism is provided with a projecting tooth 60 which is adapted, when the block 29 has been withdrawn to its lowermost position by means of the treadle 37, to be engaged by a downwardly projecting portion of the pawl 57, the pawl being constantly urged to engage the block 29 by means of a weighted arm 62.

It will be apparent that upon a depression of the treadle 37 the pawl 57 will engage the tooth 60 and prevent immediate disengagement of the clutch mechanism, the parts being in the position shown in Figure III. Each reciprocatory movement causes the pawl 53 to successively engage the teeth of the wheel 51, thus intermittently rotating the latter, until the pin 55 engages the pawl 57 withdrawing the latter from engagement with the block 29 and operating to disengage the clutch mechanism.

The ratchet wheel 51 is provided with as many teeth as there are slots in the armature, so that upon the completion of the insulation inserting operations the mechanism will be automatically stopped.

Armature supporting and indexing mechanism being separated to form an opening or slot 70,

equivalent in width to the width of the throats of the slots in the armature A. The slot is adapted to selectively receive lengths of the insulating material of fibrous rope or other material suitable for closing the throats of the'armature slots in a manner to be hereinafter described.

After each succeeding length of rope has been inserted in the throat of an armature slot the armature must be moved to a position bringing the next armature slot into registration with the slot 70. To accomplish this, I have provided an indexing mechanism comprising a pawl pivoted intermediate its ends to a link 84, the latter being pivotally secured to the block 69 of the machine by means of a pin 85. The other end of the link 84 is connected as at 86 to a comparatively short link 87', the latter being pivotally secured as at 88' to the ram 11. It will be apparent from examination of Figures V and VI that the pawl 80 is at all times urged into engagement with the peripheral surface of the armature A under the influence of a spring 82 interposed between the pawl and the link 84,

Rope feeding and severing means The mechanism for feeding the insulating rope into the machine comprises a pair of grooved feed rolls 87 and 88, the roll 87 being revolvably supported upon a shaft 91 carried by a member 92 which is pivoted upon a shaft 93 supported in a bracket 94, the latter forming a part of the body of the machine. The feed roll 88 is fixedly secured upon a shaft 96 journalled for rotation in a bracket 97, and is provided with a spur gear 98 which meshes with a similar spur gear 99 fixed to the shaft 91 so that rotation of the shaft 96 serves to rotate both of the feed rolls in opposite directions.

The shaft 96 is secured to an inner member 100 of an overrunning clutch which permits rotation of the shaft 96 in one direction only. As the overrunning clutch illustrated herein forms no part of the present invention per se, I will not describe it in detail. The exterior portion 101 of the clutch is provided with a crank arm 103 to which is connected one end of a rod 105, the other end of the rod being journalled upon a stud formed upon a rectangular block 108 which is adjustably secured within the ways 110 forming part of a flange 111 secured upon one end of the crank shaft 6.

It will be apparent that with each complete revolution of the crank shaft 6 the feeding rolls will be given a predetermined rotary movement in one direction'only, through the operation of the overrunning clutch mechanism, each movement of the feed rolls operating to advance a predetermined length of rope '75 through an opening 115 in the guiding plate 116 and thence into a space adjacent one end of the transversely slidable plate 118. If it is found desirable to vary the length of rope advanced by the feed rolls, this may be accomplished by adjusting the position 01' the block 108 to vary the length of the crank arm and thereby impart a greater or lesser movement to the rolls.

The purpose of the plate 118 is to sever a section of the rope from the source of supply and to properly position it-in the path of the inserting tool 125 carried by the ram 11. The plate 118 is provided with a section of a toothed rack 120 in mesh with a toothed sector 121 formed upon the lower extremity of one arm of a bell crank lever 122 which is fulcrumed upon a shaft 123 sup-- ment of the ram, the overrunning clutch is rendered active to operate the rope feeding rolls, and advance the rope into the space 117-made by the retraction of the plate 118. As the ram approaches its uppermost position the projection 130 actuates the bell crank lever to move the plate to the left, severing the portion of the rope in the space 117 from the supply by reason of the sharp edge thereof sliding relative to the rope guiding bushing 135. Continued movement of the plate 118 carries the severed portion of the rope into the slot 70 in position to be subsequently inserted in'one of the slots in the armature by means of the inserting tool 125 carried by the ram 11.

In addition to the rope feeding means hereinbefore'described, I have provided a supplemen tal feeding means 140 suitably operated by means of a belt 141 connected to a pulley supported upon the crankshaft 6, the purpose of this means being to prevent the strain of uncoiling the rope from the supply reel 143, being transmitted to the main rope feeding rolls 8'7 and 88.

It is obvious that if the operator should inadvertently place a blank armature into the armature receiving block so that a slot of the armature is-not in registration with the opening between the plates 67 and 68, that a downward movement of the inserting tool 125 would bring the latter into engagement with one of the armature teeth resulting in the breaking of the tooth of the armature or the machine. In order to obviate any difliculties of this nature I have interposed a pair of flexible plates or leaf springs 138, between the inserting tool holder 132 and the ram 11 so that if the tool 125 is caused to impinge upon the peripheral surface of the armature, the springs 138 will be flexed and no serious damage will result either to the armature or the machine.

In Figures XIII, XIV and XV I haveshown a modified form of armature supporting means which comprises a block 69' having a substantially rectangular opening 150 which is adapted to receive the armature. Positioned within the opening 150' is a pair of supporting rollers 151 and 152 which are respectively supported upon shafts 153 and 154, the latter being suitably supported in bearings forming parts of the block 69'. The rollers 151 and 152' form suitable antifriction supports for the armature, a third roller 156' carried by a shaft 157 serves to prevent a lateral displacement of the armature during indexing operations. The armature indexing means is the same as that hereinbefore described comprising a pawl and an actuating link 84'.

In order to prevent the pawl 80' from rotating the armature in the opposite direction upon its return movement, I-have provided a tension plate 159' suitably supported upon a shaft 160 which is formed with a projectinglip 161' adapted to successively engage the teeth of the recesses of the armature during the retractive movement of the pawl 80'. The plate 159 is provided with a slot 165 so as to accommodate the armature engaging end of the indexing pawl 80'. The shaft carrying this tension plate is provided with a handle 163' wh ch may be manipulated by the operator to permit the insertion of an armature in the block 69'. The plate 159 is held in resilthe roller 152' is journalled for rotation, the shaft the opening in the block 69, a shaft 172 is proalso being provided with a manipulating handle 166'. It will be obvious that if for any reason the armature should stick" in the machine, the same may be released by manipulating the handle 166' to swing the roller 152' out of normal position through the medium of the eccentric 155' thus making it easier to remove or dislodge the armature. A catch pin 169' is incorporated in the handle 166 and serves to prevent accidental movement of the roller 155"during the operation of the machine.

In order to properly position the armature in vided with an upwardly projecting stop member 173' which is adapted to engage the extremity of the shaft of the armature and properly position the latter. The shaft 172 is also provided with a manipulating handle 1'74 which may be used in event the armature sticks in the block to remove the same by imparting a longitudinal movement to the handle 174 which obviously causes the stop member 173' to eject the armature from the block 69'.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

The operator first places an armature in the opening to receive the same in the block and rotates the armature until one of the recesses therein is engaged by the pawl 80. When the armature has been adjusted properly, the slot engaged by the pawl 80 will be in registration with the opening 70. The operator then depresses the treadle 37 which operation withdraws the cam 25 releasing the pin 15 and operatively connecting the flywheel with the crank shaft 6, the fly wheel being continuously operated by means of the motor 9. The depression of the treadle 37 also per: mits the pawl 57 to engage the tooth 60 on the block 29 so that the clutch mechanism is prevent ed from becoming disengaged until after a predetermined number of rotations of the crank shaft have been completed.

The number of revolutions made by the crank shaft depends upon the number of teeth in the ratchet wheel 51 which corresponds in number to the number of recesses in the armature in which the insulation is to be inserted. With each rotation of the crank shaft 6 the feed rolls 8'? and 88 are caused to operate to advance the rope into the opening 11'! adjacent the inner end of the rope shearing plate 118. The rope feeding operation takes place during the upward movement of the ram 11, so that upon the completion of the rope feeding operation the projection 130 fixed to the ram engages the extended arm 12'? of the bell crank lever and causes a lateral movement of the plate 118 to shear that portion of the rope in the opening 117 and to subsequently move the severed portion into the path of the inserting tool 125. During the upward movement of the ram 11, the

. indexing pawl 80engages the recess in the armature adjacent the one in which rope has been previously inserted and operates to shift the armature to a position in which the recess engaged by the pawl 80 is moved into registration with the opening 70. The subsequent downward movement of the ram 11 operates to withdraw the pawl 80 from the armature recess and when the ram reaches its lowermost position, the pawl 80 is adapted to engage the next succeeding slot in the armature. As the severed portion of the rope has been previously moved into the opening the tool 125 carried by the ram 11 engages the severed portion of the rope and forcibly inserts it into the throat of thearmature slot. During this downward movement of the inserting tool, the

- yieldably mounted projection 129 engages the bell crank arm 12'? and causes a lateral movement of the rope shearing 7 plate to the left to the position shown in Figure V, so as to make the opening 117 to subsequently drawn from engagement with the tooth 60 and v permitting the clutch mechanism to disengage the pin in the fly wheel 8 from the crank shaft 6 thereby stopping the operation of the machine. 7 The completed armature may then be withdrawn from the block 65 and a blank armature inserted therein and the machine again placed into-operation as hereinbefore described.

It is apparent that, within the scope of the invention modifications and different arrangements may be made other than is herein disclosed, and the present disclosure is illustrative merely, the invention comprehending all variations thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the character disclosed, in combination, a frame for supporting an armature having circumferentially spaced recesses; means for placing lengths of twisted material in the recesses of the armature including a yieldably mounted member; means for indexing the armature acting against the walls of the recesses thereof; and common means for actuating said member and said indexing means.

2. In a machine of the character disclosed, in combination, a frame adapted for supporting an armature having circumferentially spaced recesses containing coils; means for inserting strands of twisted material in said recesses for retaining coils comprising an intermittently operated material feeding means; a laterally movable shearing member for shearing said strands; and a vertically reciprocable member adapted to engage said severed strands of material for placing the latter in said armature recesses.

3. -In a machine of the character disclosed, in combination, a frame for supporting an armature having circumferentially spaced recesses containing coils; means for inserting lengths of a strand of twisted material in said recesses comprising intermittently actuated feeding rolls, said intermittent actuating means including an overrunning clutch; a periodically operated strand shearing mechanism; a vertically reciprocable strand inserting tool; and means including a pawl for indexing said armature acting against the teeth thereof-to bring the succeeding recesses of the armatureinto position to selectively receive strands of material.

4. In a machine of the character disclosed, in combination, a frame having an opening adapted to receive an armature having spaced recesses; means for inserting lengths of twisted material in the recesses comprising a feeding means for said material, said feeding means consisting of feeding rolls for said material; means for intermittently actuating said feeding rolls including an overrunning clutch; a guide for said material; a periodically reciprocable shearing member for shearing predetermined lengths from the supply of material; and a vertically reciprocable member for inserting the material in the armature recesses; means including a pawl adapted to c0- operate with the teeth of said armature for indexing the latter to successively move the armature to bring the recesses into proper position to receive lengths of the material; a link connecting said pawl with said vertically reciprocable member whereby said pawl is operated simultaneously with the movements of said member.

5. In a mechanism, means for automatically feeding insulating material intermittently comprising means adapted for engagement with the material; continuously operating means for said feeding means; means for periodically connecting said feeding means with said continuously operating means including an over-running clutch; and means for varying the effective action of said continuously operating means with respect to said feeding means.

6. That improvement in the art of building armatures which consists in supporting a member having spaced recesses with coils therein; feeding twisted material to a position adjacent to and in substantial parallelism with a recess of said member; severing an appropriate length of said twisted material from a supply; guiding and forcing said length of material into the said recess, thereby compressing and distorting said twisted material to retain said coil in said recess.

7. An improvement in the art of building armatures which consists in supporting a member having spaced recesses with coils therein; feeding a strand of twisted material to a position in substantial parallelism with a recess of said member; severing a length of the twisted material from a supply and forcing said length of material into the said recess, thereby compressing and distorting said twisted material to retain said coil in said recess.

8. Steps in the method of building armatures which consist in supporting a member having spaced recesses with coils therein of feeding a strand of twisted material to a. position adjacent to and in substantial parallelism with a recess of said member; and of guiding and forcing said strand of material into the said recess, thereby compressing and distorting said twisted material to retain said coil in said recess.

HARRISON H. EATON. 

